VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULITY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES ------ ------ NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY MINH THE INFLUENCE OF READING TOPICS ON STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO READ AT VINH BAO HIGH SCHOOL, HAI PHONG Ảnh hưởng của các chủ đề đọc tới sự động lực học kỹ năng đọc hiểu của học sinh trường THPT Vĩnh Bảo, Hải Phòng M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.10 HANOI - 2012 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULITY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES ------ ------ NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY MINH THE INFLUENCE OF READING TOPICS ON STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO READ AT VINH BAO HIGH SCHOOL, HAI PHONG Ảnh hưởng của các chủ đề đọc tới đô ̣ng lưc̣ học kỹ năng đọc hiểu của học sinh trường THPT Vĩnh Bảo, Hải Phòng M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.10 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Mai Hữu, M.A HANOI - 2012 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION……………………………………………………………. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. ivii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES. vii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale for the study. Aims of the study. Scope of the study. Significance of the study.
Methods of the study. Design of the study. 5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. Overview of motivation.
Definitions of motivation. Types of motivation. Global, situational and task motivation. Motivation in second language learning.
Overview of reading. Definitions of reading. 8 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Types of reading .1 According to manners of reading .2 According to purposes of reading.
Reading in foreign language learning. Motivation in learning reading. The importance of motivation in learning reading. Common factors affecting students’ motivation in learning reading skill.
The reading materials. The context of the study. Reading sections in TIENG ANH 10, 11 textbook. Participants of the study.
Data collection instruments. Survey questionnaires for the teachers. Survey questionnaires for the students. Data collection procedures .6 Data analysis procedures.
21 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS. Students’ attitude towards reading skill. Types of students’ motivation in learning reading. 24 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
The students’ attitudes towards the current reading topics and their preferences for reading topics ………………………………………………26 3. The influence of reading topics on students’ motivation to read. Limitations and suggestions for further studies………………………….I APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS….I APPENDIX 2: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE TEACHERS .V APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW …………………….VIII vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES I. LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students’ reasons for learning reading skill Table 2: Students’ opinions on the current reading topics Table 3: Students’ preferences for the current reading topics in English 10 textbook Table 4: Students’ preferences for the current reading topics in English 11 textbook II.
LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Student’s attitudes towards the importance of learning English reading Figure 2: Students’ interest in learning reading skill Figure 3: Students’ attitudes towards the role of reading topics to the motivation for learning reading skill Figure 4: Teacher’s attitudes towards the role of reading topics to motivate their students in learning reading skill vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION This part presents the rationale for choosing the topic, the aims of the study, the research questions, the scope, the methods, the significance and the design of the study in order to help readers have a general view on the research. Rationale for the study Krashen & Terrel (1983:131) state that “Reading may contribute significantly to competence in a second language. There is good reason, in fact, to hypothesize that reading makes a contribution to overall competence, to all four skills”. Reading is one of the major skills of learning a second or foreign language and it has a prominent position in the design of a foreign language teaching program.
Reading skill helps the students to increase their knowledge of English through exposure to language expressions, and structures, and language contents as well. Therefore, teaching reading is gaining more attention from both language teachers and language teaching materials developers. However, in Vietnam, many English learners complain that reading always makes them feel bored and stressful. They seem to lack motivation to read.
In fact, motivation is an essential element in learning in general and in learning reading in particular, but creating a motivated atmosphere for students in a reading lesson is a challenging task. For the above reasons, I would like to carry out “The influence of reading topics on students’ motivation to read at Vinh Bao high school, Hai Phong” to investigate the role of reading topics in learners’ motivation to learn reading skill and to study their interests in reading topics. It is hoped 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com that the study will be helpful for English teachers in general and those at Vinh Bao high school in particular to stimulate their students in a reading lesson. Aims of the study The study is aimed at: - Identifying students’ motivation in learning reading skill at Vinh Bao high school; - Identifying students’ interests in the reading topics; - Studying the influence of the reading topics on students’ motivation to learn reading skill.
Research questions The study was carried out in order to find out answers to the following research questions: 1. What is students’ attitude towards learning reading skill? 2. What types of motivation do they have in learning reading? 3. How interesting do the students find the current reading topics? 4.
What is the influence of the reading topics on students’ motivation to read? 4. Scope of the study With the limitation of the time, I will focus on the 11th - form students’ attitudes at Vinh Bao high school towards learning reading skill, the types of motivation possessed by students, the students’ attitudes on current reading topics and the influence of the reading topics on students’ motivation to learn reading skill. Needless to say, it is necessary for the teachers to know what their students like to read. Significance of the study The study highlights the influence of reading topics on the motivation in learning reading skills.
2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com The findings of the study are believed to be useful for English teachers to be aware of the essential role of reading topics in the students’ motivation to learn reading. Hopefully, it can help them to motivate students in learning reading skills. Methods of the study The theoretical background of the study mainly is developed basing on the references of and analysis on relevant theories about motivation and reading. The study is carried out on the basis of survey questionnaires.
Firstly, for the theoretical basis, a lot of reference materials on motivation and reading have been gathered, analyzed and synthesized thoroughly with the clue consideration on the teachers’ and students’ teaching and learning situations. Secondly, interviews and questionnaires are carried out with teachers and students of English to gather the most reliable data for the thesis. Design of the study The study is organized in three parts: Part A: Introduction presents the rationale, the aims of the study, the research questions, the scope of the study, the significance of the study, the methods of the study and the design of the study. Part B: Development consists of three chapters: Chapter 1: Literature review provides theoretical background for the study.
Its focus is on introducing important relevant concepts, discussions of issues and ideas on theories for motivation, nature of reading and motivation in learning reading as well as factors affecting motivation in learning reading. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Chapter 2: Methodology presents the methods used in the study including research methods, research setting , participants of the study, data collection instruments, data collection and data analysis procedure. Chapter 3: Data analysis and major findings shows the detailed results together with a comprehensive analysis on the data collected from the survey questionnaires and the interview. Part C: Conclusion presents the conclusions, implications, limitations and the suggestions for further study.
4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the theoretical background for the study is provided. The chapter focuses on three main features: overview of motivation, overview of reading and motivation in reading skill.1 Overview of motivation 1.1 Definitions of motivation Many researchers have given definitions of motivation and most of them agree that motivation is the force that makes one do something. According to Kleinginna (1981:6), motivation is “a desire or want that energizes and directs goal-oriented behavior”. Brown (2000:160) points out that “motivation is some kinds of internal drove which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something”.
Sharing the same point, Dornyei (2001:7) suggests that “motivation explains why people decide to do something, how hard they are going to pursue it and how long they are willing to sustain the activities” It is clear from the above definitions that different scholars approach motivation definition differently. However, they all share the same point of view that motivation combines external and internal influences.2 Types of motivation There have been many different distinctions between types of motivation so far. They are integrative vs. instrumental motivation, intrinsic vs.
extrinsic motivation, global, situational and task motivation, and resultative motivation. instrumental motivation In 1972, Gardner and Lambert divided the motivation to learn a language into two types: integrative motivation and instrumental motivation. 5 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Integrative motivation stresses “a sincere and personal interest in the people and culture represented by the other group”. Integrative motivation is the desire to identify with and integrate into the target-language culture.
Instrumental motivation stresses “the practical value and advantages of learning a new language”. Instrumental motivation is the wish to learn the language for purposes of study or career promotion. extrinsic motivation Moore, K., (1992) separates motivation into two main categories: extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation refers to “motivation to engage in an activity for its own sake” (Wlodkowski - 1995).
He means that activity itself is our benefit, so we do not need any other kinds of rewards or punishments. According to Moore (1992), “intrinsic motivation is what learners bring to learning environment, that is, their internal attributes: attitudes, values, needs and personality factors”. Extrinsic motivation Paul (2002) states that extrinsic motivation is “motivation to engage in an activity as means to an end”. Moore (1992) gives easily understandable definition that “extrinsic motivation originates outside the individual and is concerned with external environments factors that help shape students’ behavior”.
It can be said that the main difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is the goals of the students. With intrinsic motivation, the students study subject material for the sake of learning. These students find studying enjoyable and learning new ideas as a reward itself. In contrast, with extrinsic motivation, the students study for the sake of outside influences such as 6 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com getting teacher and peer praise, acquiring a good grade or some other type of reinforcement that a teacher or peer might offer.
Intrinsic and extrinsic interact with each other and play an important role in classroom motivation. Therefore, these two kinds of motivation seems to be more useful for teachers.3 Global, situational and task motivation Brown (1990) identified three types of motivation: Global motivation: the overall orientation of the learner towards the learning of the foreign language. Situational motivation: it has to do with the context learning (classroom, total environment).